Hsbc Holdings PLC Purchases 46,110 Shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its position in shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 32.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 189,932 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 46,110 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $36,658,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ferguson by 80.1% during the first quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 32,811 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,166,000 after buying an additional 14,590 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Ferguson by 14.5% during the 1st quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 75,505 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,493,000 after acquiring an additional 9,562 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in Ferguson in the 2nd quarter valued at $2,834,000. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in Ferguson by 20.8% in the fourth quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC now owns 60,406 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,663,000 after purchasing an additional 10,406 shares during the period. Finally, Duality Advisers LP bought a new stake in shares of Ferguson during the first quarter worth $5,016,000. 81.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ferguson Trading Down 5.6 %

FERG opened at $196.52 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The firm has a market cap of $39.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.48, a PEG ratio of 6.13 and a beta of 1.21. Ferguson plc has a 12 month low of $147.62 and a 12 month high of $225.63. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $204.88 and a 200-day moving average price of $206.95.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, September 17th. The company reported $2.98 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.86 by $0.12. Ferguson had a net margin of 6.33% and a return on equity of 36.89%. The business had revenue of $7.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.77 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Ferguson plc will post 9.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 27th will be paid a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 27th. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.61%. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.54%.

Ferguson announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, June 4th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy up to 2.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on FERG shares. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Ferguson from $203.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Ferguson from $238.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Ferguson from $211.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Barclays raised their price objective on Ferguson from $229.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Ferguson from $250.00 to $225.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $231.57.

Ferguson Profile

Ferguson plc distributes plumbing and heating products in the United States and Canada. It offers plumbing and heating solutions to customers in the residential, commercial, civil/infrastructure, and industrial end markets. The company also provides expertise, solutions, and products, including infrastructure, plumbing, appliances, fire, fabrication, and others, as well as heating, ventilation, and air conditioning products under the Ferguson brand name.